He swung through L.A. with Vince Vaughn; with his direction of Iron Man, he helped revive Robert Downey Jr.’s career; and next year he brings us a reimagining of Disney’s version of The Jungle Book. He is Jon Favreau, and today he turns 49.
Join M-Net Movies in celebrating the actor, writer, director and producer with these ten fun facts.
- He was considered for the role of Chandler in Friends.
- We really do have Favreau to thank for seeing Downey Jr. as Iron Man. Marvel didn’t have much faith in the idea of the actor in the role; but Favreau, believing whole-heartedly in him, managed to convinced the head honchos. The rest, as we know very well, is history.
- Former jobs Favreau worked include a stint at a Wall Street investment bank, and doing improve comedy and theatre in Chicago.
- No, he is not directing a Star Wars movie. If you don’t believe us, just check out his Twitter feed where he affirms in the negative more than once.
- He shares a name with a former Obama speechwriter, but Hollywood Jon is older than the White House one, so he had the name first.
- The Mandarin was supposed to appear in Iron Man, but Favreau squashed the idea. The character later appeared in the third instalment, the only movie in the trilogy that Favreau did not direct.
- Any phobias? Yes, he used to be afraid of flying.
- Tears of joy were shed by both Favreau and Gwyneth Paltrow when the latter was cast as Pepper Potts. Clearly their work means a lot to them.
- The apartment used in Swingers, which is based on Favreau’s experience of moving from New York to LA, is his own apartment.
- We can’t wait to watch The Jungle Book! OK, so that’s not a Jon Favreau fact, but it’s still a fact.